Floor covering display mailer

ABSTRACT

The present invention is constructed to include a cardboard tray in which a floor covering sample, e.g. a swatch snugly fits. A cardboard cover folds over the tray to cover it for mailing purposes. The sides of the cover are joined to the sides of the tray by gussets and the back of the cover is joined to the back of the tray by a fold line. A three-dimensional illusion is produced by providing a pictorial display on the inner surface of the cover, the display being erect behind the swatch when the cover is swung up. The display may be a photograph or other illustration of a room within which the floor is seemingly covered by the sample.

United States Patent Inventor Jerrold A. Smith c/o Arrow Art Finishers, 1201 Evergreen Avenue, Bronx, NY. 10472 Appl. No. 857,523

Filed Sept. 12, 1969 Patented July 6, 1971 FLOOR COVERING DISPLAY MAILER 2,137,420 11/1938 Soybel 2,188,185 1/1940 Hutchinson ABSTRACT: The present invention is constructed to include a cardboard tray in which a floor covering sample, e.g. a swatch snugly fits. A cardboard cover folds over the tray to cover it for mailing purposes. The sides of the cover are joined to the sides of the tray by gussets and the back of the cover is joined to the back of the tray by a fold line. A three-dimensional illusion is produced by providing a pictorial display on the inner surface of the cover, the display being erect behind the swatch when the cover is swung up. The display may be a photograph or other illustration of a room within which the floor is seemingly covered by the sample.

PATENTED JUL 6197! FtlG. 6

F I 5 INVENTOR JERROLD A. SMITH BY Hula/(14, M101, 97%; $7 1401/ ATTORNEYS IFILOOR COVERING DlifilPLAif MAlIlLlEE 1. Field of the Invention Merchandising display boxes.

2. Description of the Prior Art The use of display packaging for consumer merchandise has been known in the past. Display packaging, as such, has been used in an effort to enhance both initial and repeat sales of consumer items which may be packaged with the display. Such display packaging is oriented toward producing an attention directing and aesthetically pleasing physical appearance of the display and of the merchandise. Some display packaging in the field of small (hand held) consumer articles such as fruits, small toys, etc. included an open tray within which the articles were contained, and from which the customer made his selection. The display merchandising techniques which were utilized with the open tray display boxes were merely attention directing indicia on a vertical panel (header) behind the open tray. Generally, such indicia were imprinted in brightly colored inks to further amplify any effects produced.

Unfortunately, in the field of floor cover merchandising, the use of display apparatus to facilitate sales has been quite stagnant. For a great length of time the sole displays which were available in floor covering salesrooms were swatches of carpet in either book form, or hanging loose, or small squares of hard floor covering such as tile or linoleum. These samples did not enable customers to easily visualize the application and suitability of the floor covering to their individual needs.

As a result of these deficiencies, a good deal of floor covering sales were made by direct solicitation of salesmen who would place samples on the floors of actual rooms to be covered. Of course, this greatly increased sales costs, yet still left much to be desired because the complete effect of a fully covered room could not be acquired by the mere environmental placement of a single (small, cg. 2 feet by 2 feet) sample.

Furthermore, mail solicitation of floor covering materials has had little success. This was attributable to the fact that only small covering samples were feasibly mailablc. These mailable samples were usually about 3%X2" or less, and offered no value in creating an illusion of complete floor covering at the recipients home. Indeed, if even the large samples carried by salesmen were unable to create the desired effect when merely placed on the floor, the even smaller samples which were suitable for mail solicitation created less of an effeet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a floor covering display of the foregoing general character which display is so constructed that it is not subject to any of the forego' ing disadvantages.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a floor covering display of the character described which is simple and rugged in construction, yet can be fabricated by mass production methods.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a floor covering display of the character described wherein there is included a two-dimensional illustration of a room and wherein a floor covering sample contained within the display is utilized to produce, in conjunction with the illustration, a three-dimensional illusion simulating the actual application of the floor covering in the room.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a floor covering display of the character described which will greatly reduce the costs incurred in selling and merchandising floor coverings, by providing a mailable display that simulates actual utilization of a floor covering with the aid of a sample.

Other objects of the invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly constitutes the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the mailers hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings in which are shown various possible embodiments of the invention,

FIG. ii is a perspective view of a carpet display constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention and illustrating a display tray with a carpet sample swatch nested therein:

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cardboard blank which is used to construct the cardboard portion of the carpet display;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the top of the carpet display illustrated in FIG. ll after the same has been foldedfor mailing:

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the carpet display with the cover opened and illustrating the manner in which portions of the display tray blank are interlocked;

FIG. 5 is a front view of an alternate embodiment wherein the display imprint is an illustration of a room without flooring; and

FIG. 6 is a face view of a gusset with a print-free inner face in another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention deals with a carpet display mailing packet which is suitable for mailing, and produces a most unusual and effective illusion of a wall-to-wall carpeted room. Basically, a carpet sample swatch is positioned within a cardboard mailing tray, and when the user opens his mailed packet by lifting a cardboard cover panel, the carpet is exposed. The cover panel is designed to be raised to an erect position perpendicular to the plane of the carpet, so that the inner surface of said panel simulates a wall of a room of which the carpet swatch covers the floor. The inner surface of the cover panel bears a representation of objects which might be seen when looking into a room, including, for example, floor-borne furniture and wall-borne decorations. The representation may also include a graphic vertical representation of some carpeting on the floor extending from the simulated wall, and which matches and seems to extend from the horizontal swatch of actual carpeting on the simulated floor of the mini pseudo room. Thereby, a three-dimensional effect is produced and there is an illusion that the sample swatch constitutes a wallto-wall carpet that extends from the simulated wall to complete the room. Thus, the recipient of the mailing packet is easily able to visualize not only the actual carpet color, texture and other physical properties, but may equally visualize the appearance of the carpet within a room.

A large variety of sample pseudo rooms are prepared to show prospective purchasers the decorative potential of different colors, textures and types of carpeting under a range of different backgrounds, e.g. sundry periods of furniture, bedrooms, livingrooms, dens, basements, patios, business offices and professional offices.

It is to be noted that the carpet display mailer hereinafter described is a quite valuable merchandising implement, for not only carpet applications, but for all applications wherein floor covering is to be merchandised. Other suitable uses for the display of the present invention would be in merchandising tile flooring, either of the vinyl, asbestos, linoleum or ceramic types, in sheets, where suitable, or in smaller pieces such as squares. It is equally suitable for use in merchandising wood flooring, e.g. parquet tiles or strips.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 1t) denotes a carpet display mailer constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention, and illustrating an oblong carpet sample swatch l2 flatly nestably positioned within a shallow oblong cardboard mailing tray lid. The carpet swatch 12 may be placed in the tray with or without the use of a securing adhesive. If unsecured, the recipient may remove the carpet sample and thoroughly examine the same. A cardboard cover 16 is joined by a fold line to the long rear edge of the tray. When swung up from its closed mailing position, the cover exposes the carpet sample 112. This cover 16 is folded down over the sample for mailing purposes (see FIG. 3) and the inner surface of the cover (the surface facing the carpet) bears, as by imprinting, display matter If; such as, for instance, a photograph. The display matter I8 includes a twodimensional representation of a portion of a room including a wall of a room. The term wall includes not only vertical walls but any erect surface in front of or mounted on an actual wall or any erect surface serving to partition or divide a room. The display assumes a three-dimensional carpeted room effect when the cover is erect and the carpet carrying tray extends in a generally horizontal position from the vertical display matter 18.

In order to further enhance this three-dimensional effect, the cover 16 is joined to the short side edges of the tray by foldable gusseted side webs 20 and 22, each of which are composed of two triangular congruent panels 24, 26 forming web 20 and 28 and 30 forming web 22, joined by fold lines 32 and 34, that extend from the junction of the rear and side edges of the tray. The webs serve two functions. Firstly, they limit the upward swinging movement of the cover to one in which it is perpendicular to the carpet sample, to maximize the illusion that the inner face of the cover is the rear wall of the room. In this connection, it is to be observed that the webs are of cardboard so that when outfolded with the panels thereof in a common plane, they tend to maintain this position and thereby hold the cover erect. Secondly, the webs, themselves being vertical and perpendicular to the erect cover, in the viewer's mind's eye simulate sidewalls of a mini pseudo room so as to heighten the simulation created. I

As shown in FIG. I the inner surface, i.e. the surface facing the carpet sample 12, of each gusseted web bears display material complementing that on the cover 16, so that a threewalled room is simulated. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 6 these surfaces of the webs may be left unprinted.

For the maximum effect, the display matter If; is in color and will include a room having walls 36 and a flooring material 38 covering the floor shown in the illustration. The flooring material 38; is an illustration of the same carpet, i.e. a carpet having the same color and texture as the carpet sample 12. Thus, the recipient of the mailed sample packet will open the cover 16 and may immediately visualize a room having wallto-wall carpeted flooring, and with an actual piece of the sample carpet projecting horizontally from the bottom of the illustration.

As previously mentioned, the display mailer of the present invention is suitable for application to merchandise flooring for typical rooms. For example, the room illustrated in the photograph 18 is a dentists ofiice showing a dental operating chair and related dental equipment. The carpet display mailers having this illustration and an appropriate carpet sample would be sent to a selected list of dentists who upon opening the same, could easily and immediately visualize their own dental office floor covered by this carpet.

The display mailer of the present invention may be formed of a single sheet blank 40 of a cardboard material as illustrated in FIG. 2. The blank includes several panels connected by fold lines, one of said panels being the oblong cover 16 and another is a base 42 of the oblong tray M. The cover and base are interconnected by a thin, rectangular spacing panel 44 which is of a width approximately the thickness of the carpet sample, and which is joined by fold lines 45 to the bottom of the cover 16 and rear edge of the base 42 to form the vertical rear wall 46 of the tray I4.

The blank 40 also includes two tray reinforcing panels 50 and 52 which project downwardly from the thin rectangular spacing panel 44 and beneath the gusseted webs 20 and 22. Each reinforcing panel includes a slit 54 and 56 constituting paper locks which accommodate portions of the opposite reinforcing panel when the two are extended across the bottom of base panel 42 of the tray (see FIG. 4).

In assembling the display mailer from a blank M), the gusseted webs 2t) and 22 are folded toward one another along the fold lines 58 and 60 which interconnect the panels 24 and 28 to the cover panel 16. The base is swung up perpendicular to the cover and panel 44. Subsequently, the reinforcing panels are folded to lie over the base panel 42 and then are interengaged at their slits 54 and 56 (see FIG. 4). There are additionally provided two thin oblong panels 62 and 64 which extend downwardly from the bottom edge of the base panel 42, and which are folded upon one another to form the squat front wall 6 of the tray 1141. When these panels are folded upon one another, the fold line so interconnecting the panels becomes the top edge of the front wall 65 constituted by the panel 52. To reinforce the sides 38 of the tray, and hold the same in position, tabs 67 extending from the opposite ends of the sidewalls 48 and projecting laterally from the gussets, are inserted in the space between the interfolded panels 62 an 64.

A further narrow panel 70 extends upwardly from the top edge of the cover In and is of a width equal to the front wall 65 of the tray, so that when the display mailer is in a closed position with the cover It: concealing the carpet, the panel 70 will extend over the front wall 65 of the tray. There is also provided a locking engagement between the panel 70 and the front wall 65. Said locking engagement includes an ear 72 which projects centrally and upwardly from the panel 70 and is adapted to be folded about a line 73 to be inserted into a matching slot 74 in the base of the front wall. The engagement between the ear 72 and the slot 7d prevents inadvertent opening of the display mailer during shipment. Such engagement may be aided by application of an adhesive strip bridging the cover and base across the front wall.

It should be noted at this time that when the display mailer is in the closed position (see FIG. 3) the fold lines 32 and 34 of the gusset webs 20 and 22 extend inwardly toward the interior of the simulated room and the panels 24, 26 and 28, 30 overlap, so that a smooth and flat mailing package results.

Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 5 wherein like reference numerals denote structural parts similar to those of the preferred embodiment. However, the designation a" has been added after such numerals. The display mailer Mia shown in this illustration is substantially identical in structure to the display mailer 10 previously described, and the blank 40 may equally be used for this embodiment, except that the display material Illa carried by the cover panel 16a, and which serves to simulate a wall of a room, has no representation of floor covering, i.e. the bottom edge of the simulated wall display is at the bottom edge of the cover, so that the carpet sample 12a constitutes the only simulative flooring. Thus, if the carpet sample were removed from the tray Ma, there would merely be a three dimensional illustration of a room with walls and the bare base 42a of the tray would be the floor. This illusion is slightly different from the illusion produced with the display matter Ill, which illustration includes a floor area 38, although the overall effect of a room with the carpet sample serving as the flooring thereof is identical.

It is additionally contemplated that the tray could carry a sample swatch of flooring material and the cover 116 would be rigidly held in its vertical position for a display of a more permanent nature, e.g. in a store. Such rigid mounting could be accomplished by providing rigid (planar) sidewalls extending from the side edges of the tray without a gusset.

Further embodiments includes a tray with separate rear and side panels which are positioned perpendicularly with respect to the tray by being wedged between the peripheral edges of the flooring material and the sidewalls of the tray. The removable panels would, of course, carry appropriate roomsimulating display matter l3.

Thus it will be seen that there are provided flooring display devices which achieve the various objects of the invention and which are well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the present invention and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. I

Having thus described the invention, there is I claim as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent:

1. A display for floor covering materials, said display including an open top shallow fiat tray, a sample of flat floor covering material, said sample being located within and substantially filling said tray, a first erect panel, the bottom of said first panel being at the rear edge of said tray, said first panel having a surface facing across said sample, said surface bear ing a two-dimensional representation of a room wall, the floor of said room being covered with the flooring material of said sample, said erect two-dimensional representation in conjunction with said sample creating an illusion of a three-dimensional mini pseudo room wherein the floor extends outwardly from the two-dimensional representation toward the viewer and is covered by the sample flooring material, whereby the three-dimensional effect provides easy visualization of the flooring sample in a complete room, and thus facilitates sales of the flooring material.

2. A display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the flooring material is a swatch of carpet, the two-dimensional representation carried by the first panel being a color illustration, said color illustration including a carpeted floor, the carpeted floor of the illustration being of the same color and simulating the texture of the carpet sample swatch.

3. A display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the representation on the first panel is a photographic reproduction said photographic reproduction being in color, the flooring material carried by the tray also being colored, whereby a threedimensional effect of the display is further enhanced.

4. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 1 wherein the tray and first panel are formed of one-piece construction from a single blank.

. 5. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 4 wherein the blank is cardboard. v

6. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 1 wherein means is provided for hingedly joining the bottom of the first panel to the rear edge of the tray for movement from an open position wherein the first panel is perpendicular to the tray, to a closed position wherein the cover overlies the tray,

whereby the display mailer may be folded to a compact size suitable for mailing.

7. A display mailer as set forth in claim 6 wherein the first panel includes an ear projecting from the upper edge thereof, the tray includes a slot, said ear being engageable in said slot when the first panel is folded over the tray, said interengaging ear and slot serving to hold the cover in its closed position to facilitate the mailing of the display sample.

8. A display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the sides of the first panel are joined to the sides of the tray by second erect panels, a side edge of each second panel adjoining a side edge of the first panel, said second panels holding the first panel erect and simulating two further walls of the pseudo room.

9. A display as set forth in claim .8 wherein the second panels have surfaces facing across the sample, said surfaces bearing two-dimensional representations, said last mentioned two-dimensional representations cooperating with the twodimensional representation on the surface of the first panel to further augment the three-dimensional efiect of a mini pseudo room.

10. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 8 wherein means is provided for hingedly joining the bottom of the first panel to the rear edge of the tray for movement from an open position wherein the first panel is perpendicular to the tray, to a closed position wherein the cover overlies the tray, whereby the display mailer may be folded to a compact size suitable for mailing and wherein the second panels have folds extending from the junction of the first panel and the tray to divide the second panel into sections that fold inwardly and over the sample when the first panel IS in closed position, said second panels extending to an upright position when the first panel is in the open position and the tray is exposed, the second panels, in their upright position being perpendicular to both the tray and the first panel.

11. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 10 wherein the second panels have surfaces facing across the sample, said surface bearing two-dimensional representations cooperating with the two-dimensional representations on the first panel when the first panel is in open position to further augment the three-dimensional effect of a mini pseudo room.

12. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 10 wherein the first panel, the tray and the second panels are formed in a one-piece construction of a single cardboard blank. 

1. A display for floor covering materials, said display including an open top shallow flat tray, a sample of flat floor covering material, said sample being located within and substantially filling said tray, a first erect panel, the bottom of said first panel being at the rear edge of said tray, said first panel having a surface facing across said sample, said surface bearing a two-dimensional representation of a room wall, the floor of said room being covered with the flooring material of said sample, said erect two-dimensional representation in conjunction with said sample creating an illusion of a threedimensional mini pseudo room wherein the floor extends outwardly from the two-dimensional representation toward the viewer and is covered by the sample flooring material, whereby the threedimensional effect provides easy visualization of the flooring sample in a complete room, and thus facilitates sales of the flooring material.
 2. A display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the flooring material is a swatch of carpet, the two-dimensional representation carried by the first panel being a color illustration, said color illustration including a carpeted floor, the carpeted floor of the illustration being of the same color and simulating the texture of the carpet sample swatch.
 3. A display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the representation on the first panel is a photographic reproduction said photographic reproduction being in color, the flooring material carried by the tray also being colored, whereby a three-dimensional effect of the display is further enhanced.
 4. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 1 wherein the tray and first panel are formed of one-piece construction from a single blank.
 5. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 4 wherein the blank is cardboard.
 6. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claIm 1 wherein means is provided for hingedly joining the bottom of the first panel to the rear edge of the tray for movement from an open position wherein the first panel is perpendicular to the tray, to a closed position wherein the cover overlies the tray, whereby the display mailer may be folded to a compact size suitable for mailing.
 7. A display mailer as set forth in claim 6 wherein the first panel includes an ear projecting from the upper edge thereof, the tray includes a slot, said ear being engageable in said slot when the first panel is folded over the tray, said interengaging ear and slot serving to hold the cover in its closed position to facilitate the mailing of the display sample.
 8. A display as set forth in claim 1 wherein the sides of the first panel are joined to the sides of the tray by second erect panels, a side edge of each second panel adjoining a side edge of the first panel, said second panels holding the first panel erect and simulating two further walls of the pseudo room.
 9. A display as set forth in claim 8 wherein the second panels have surfaces facing across the sample, said surfaces bearing two-dimensional representations, said last mentioned two-dimensional representations cooperating with the two-dimensional representation on the surface of the first panel to further augment the three-dimensional effect of a mini pseudo room.
 10. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 8 wherein means is provided for hingedly joining the bottom of the first panel to the rear edge of the tray for movement from an open position wherein the first panel is perpendicular to the tray, to a closed position wherein the cover overlies the tray, whereby the display mailer may be folded to a compact size suitable for mailing and wherein the second panels have folds extending from the junction of the first panel and the tray to divide the second panel into sections that fold inwardly and over the sample when the first panel is in closed position, said second panels extending to an upright position when the first panel is in the open position and the tray is exposed, the second panels, in their upright position being perpendicular to both the tray and the first panel.
 11. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 10 wherein the second panels have surfaces facing across the sample, said surface bearing two-dimensional representations cooperating with the two-dimensional representations on the first panel when the first panel is in open position to further augment the three-dimensional effect of a mini pseudo room.
 12. A display mailer constructed in accordance with claim 10 wherein the first panel, the tray and the second panels are formed in a one-piece construction of a single cardboard blank. 